Semiconductor laser chips comprising integrated laser diodes are known. It is known to produce a plurality of such laser chips simultaneously in common word processes by a procedure in which a plurality of laser diode structures are formed in a regular matrix arrangement in an extensive semiconductor wafer and are singulated by dividing the semiconductor wafer only after conclusion of the processing process. The semiconductor wafer is divided by controlled breaking of the semiconductor wafer. Two mutually opposite breaking faces of the laser chips formed in this way each form mirror facets of the laser chips.
To define the breaking planes along which the semiconductor wafer is broken, it is known to create depressions (skips) on the surface of the semiconductor wafer before the semiconductor wafer is broken. However, it has been found that during the breaking of the semiconductor wafer, proceeding from the depressions, dislocations and other crystal imperfections may spread in the crystal of the semiconductor wafer and they may extend right into active regions of the laser diode structures and reduce the quality of the resulting mirror facets. This may result in increased threshold currents, a reduced slope, faults in the imaging quality, a reduced efficiency and a reduced component lifetime.